It's Brittney Griner's birthday, and Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma and more share stories

They deliberation fondly of her laughter, her hugs, her saccharine tooth, her awesome skills, her emotion of her teammates. As Brittney Griner turns 32 connected Tuesday, it besides marks the 243rd time since she was wrongfully detained successful Russia, and she'll walk her day acold from home, her loved ones and her hoops family.

Griner, the longtime Phoenix Mercury and USA Basketball center, has been imprisoned successful Russia since Feb. 17, arrested connected charges she brought vape cartridges containing cannabis lipid into the country. On Aug. 4, Griner was sentenced to 9 years successful prison, and efforts are ongoing successful the effort to put a diplomatic speech of prisoners that would let her to instrumentality to the United States.

"I deliberation of her each day," said New York Liberty manager Sandy Brondello, who guided the Mercury from 2014 to 2021. "Not conscionable the large subordinate she developed into. She has this astonishing laugh, which I can't hold to perceive again."

Brondello and others shared immoderate of their favourite memories of Griner some connected and disconnected court.

"There is specified a quality broadside to BG that a batch of radical connected the extracurricular don't know," erstwhile USA Basketball caput manager Dawn Staley said. "I privation that a batch of radical were capable to spot that and could explicit themselves with the honesty that Brittney does."

Dawn Staley, South Carolina Gamecocks caput coach

Staley, who has guided the Gamecocks to 2 NCAA titles, including the 2022 championship, led the U.S. nationalist squad to golden medals successful the 2018 FIBA World Cup and the 2020 Summer Olympics. Griner played connected some teams, and Staley recalled a clip erstwhile the halfway got irritated successful signifier and allowed it to transportation implicit to a game.

"Once she lets you in, you get the champion of Brittney," Staley said. "We were successful Japan for the Olympics, and thing ticked her disconnected successful practice. I went up to her and said, 'You know, I really similar erstwhile you get huffy and you get ace focused and conscionable execute what needs to get done.'

"Brittney was like, 'Oh, you wouldn't similar it erstwhile I truly get mad.' She felt challenged, and erstwhile that happens she is going to bash what she needs to but she volition fto you cognize she's not happy. So this benignant of lingered into the crippled the adjacent day. I went up to her successful the crippled and said, 'BG, don't fto thing alteration your equilibrium. Just maintain, bash what you cognize however to do.'

"Then aft the game, successful existent BG form, she comes implicit to maine and said, 'Thanks for what you said, Coach. Sorry, I was acting similar a small b----.' Because it takes a genuine idiosyncratic to conscionable recognize however they were acting and responding. I didn't truly deliberation thing of it, but I appreciated that she processed it, and past she came backmost and took the responsibility. We laughed astir it, due to the fact that things hap and past you conscionable support it moving.

"BG is the eventual professional, and she does her job. But she's capable to stop, measure thing and past say, 'Hey, I'm sorry.' Sometimes, we don't get that effect capable successful our athletics and successful our world."

Brianna Turner, Mercury teammate

Turner, a forward, was drafted by the Mercury successful 2019 and was Griner's teammate for 3 years earlier Griner missed this past season. Turner recalls a day meal for Griner astatine Steak 44 successful Phoenix past October that astir of the squad attended, soon aft the Mercury had mislaid to the Chicago Sky successful the 2021 WNBA Finals.

Turner said the radical sat for implicit 2 hours reminiscing connected the season, everything from Turner scoring successful New York connected a layup aft Griner tipped her a leap shot to Kia Nurse hitting a half-court buzzer-beater to bushed the Sky earlier successful the season.

"It was specified a affirmative situation filled with laughs and love," Turner said. "It was important, too, due to the fact that galore of america would soon beryllium relocating overseas, truthful we knew it would beryllium the past clip to spot each different earlier the 2022 WNBA grooming camp."

After dinner, Griner and her wife, Cherelle Griner, invited the squad implicit to their house.

"We played with their dogs, watched TV and reminisced much astir our season. BG nonchalantly had her astir caller Olympic golden medal laying retired connected her java table, and I made definite to instrumentality a selfie with it arsenic if I had conscionable won golden and was lasting connected a podium.

"But that's conscionable the benignant of idiosyncratic BG is: humble and welcoming to those astir her. I clasp connected truthful hard to those memories of that evening. It's chaotic to deliberation that I past saw her successful idiosyncratic a twelvemonth ago; her day is evidently truthful antithetic this clip around. I was capable to nonstop her a letter, though, and hopefully she volition person it connected birthday.

"So galore radical that don't personally cognize BG person truthful galore assorted opinions astir her. But I tin honestly accidental BG is astir apt the warmest idiosyncratic I know. Her vigor is infectious, and she is the archetypal idiosyncratic consenting to assistance idiosyncratic successful need."

Geno Auriemma, UConn Huskies coach

Before winning golden astatine the Tokyo Olympics, Griner helped the U.S. women bash the aforesaid successful the 2016 Rio Games, wherever Auriemma coached the squad.

The 11-time nationalist champion recalled a infinitesimal helium shared with Griner disconnected the court.

"I deliberation it was successful 2013, we were doing a circuit of Europe to get acceptable for the satellite championship.

"While we were successful Italy, I asked if anyone wanted to thrust to my location wherever I was born. Only 2 players said yes; Brittney was one. When we got there, my aunts, uncles and cousins were each waiting. Everyone got retired of the van and said hullo and smiled. It was each mean 'til BG got out. They each reacted successful daze and joy; they had ne'er seen anyone, antheral oregon woman, that gangly successful their lives.

"After the hugs and hellos, we went to my uncle's location for lunch. Long communicative short, BG couldn't get capable of the nutrient and wine. My relatives were truthful excited astatine however excited she was to beryllium sampling their cheeses and meats. When we get to the airdrome the adjacent day, each BG wanted to cognize was wherever to bargain and vessel location each the treats she conscionable enjoyed.

"Brittney is simply a fable successful my hometown of Montella, Italy, and volition beryllium forever."

Sandy Brondello, Liberty caput coach

When Brondello took implicit the Mercury successful 2014, Griner was entering her 2nd play successful the WNBA. She was the No. 1 draught prime successful 2013 and had a bully rookie year, but Brondello thought Griner had conscionable started to scratch the aboveground of her talent.

Brondello's hubby and chap coach, Olaf Lange, worked specifically with Griner connected footwork and back-to-the-basket moves. "She didn't ever emotion it, but it truly paid off," said Brondello, whose Mercury won the league rubric successful 2014. "She's 1 of the champion bigs connected the artifact with her footwork and the antagonistic moves she has developed implicit the years.

"Before practice, she would ever travel into the bureau wherever the adjunct coaches and I were and say, 'Good morning!' and to look astatine the signifier play to spot what she was going and mentally hole for it. She was ever astatine signifier aboriginal eating Jack successful the Box. During film, she brought her candy successful to ticker the video. She was truthful coachable.

"She ever came to enactment acceptable to bash her best. I deliberation each of her teammates would accidental she is 1 of the champion teammates of each time, and I hold with that."

Cheryl Reeve, Lynx and USA Basketball caput coach

Reeve marveled astatine the battles betwixt the 6-foot-9 Griner and 6-6 Minnesota Lynx halfway Sylvia Fowles successful the paint. Reeve has coached Griner arsenic an adjunct manager for the U.S. women's nationalist team, and against her successful the WNBA arsenic caput manager of the Minnesota Lynx.

From a purely competitory standpoint, however did Griner oregon Fowles ever get the edge?

"I deliberation they astir apt asked each different that astatine times," Reeve said, laughing. "Like, 'How did I conscionable bash that vs. you?' For Syl, it would beryllium aboriginal positioning, and the defence earlier the catch. Letting large players drawback the shot is simply a truly atrocious idea, due to the fact that past you're successful for it.

"With Brittney, determination is besides that turnaround jumper she has that cipher tin get to."

Reeve besides pointed to different facet of Griner's game: Her quality to screen a batch of crushed quickly. Reeve recalled a play that the Lynx ran for erstwhile constituent defender Lindsay Whalen, known arsenic 1 of the champion finishers astatine the rim successful league history.

It was for Lindsay to acceptable a screen, get a screen, spell to the handbasket and get a layup," Reeve said. "She was accustomed to doing this, she had done it to each kinds of opponents, we'd been moving it for years. But we're playing Phoenix 1 clip and Lindsay gets the ball, turns the country and thinks she's got a layup.

"She doesn't adjacent spot Brittney. All of a sudden, Brittney is conscionable determination and swats it away. Lindsay is bewildered, like, 'Where the hellhole did she travel from? How did she get that?' But aft that, Lindsay ever had the mindset of, 'Where's Brittney?' You had to support successful caput that with her magnitude and her agelong stride, she could look wholly retired of the play and past beryllium close there.

"I ever archer our team, 'When we're playing Brittney Griner, there's a good enactment betwixt courageousness and stupidity with the shots that you take.'"